Kenya continues to progress towards a death penalty for poachers, with recent reports stating officials have confirmed a law change is on the table.
Najib Balala, a cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, first announced the plan in May 2018. Balala stated the current penalties are not strong enough to deter poachers.
Under the Wildlife Conservation Act enacted in 2013, wildlife poachers face a life sentence or a fine of up to $200,000.
However, the number of animals killed by poachers in the nation has been decreasing in the past few years.
“Kenya lost nine rhinos and 60 elephants to poachers in 2017, compared to 14 rhinos and 96 elephants lost in the previous year,” said Balala.
This decrease is attributed to increased commitment and security from those protecting the national parks, as well as harsher sentencing for those found guilty of wildlife crime.
Although many are praising these extreme methods, some disagree. They argue poachers are the “small fish” in the world of international animal trafficking and the focus should be on those at the top of the chain.
Others are concerned that killing the hunters — who are often from the local area — will only amplify the violence and fraught relationships between those protecting the animals and the surrounding communities. They suggest more should be done to deal with the socio-economic struggles that push people to seek money as poachers.
Although numbers are dropping, the death of even a single rhino or elephant is tragic. Animal populations still have a long way to go to fully recover from rampant poaching over the last few decades.
The slaughter of these precious animals for their horns and tusks must stop before they disappear from our planet forever.
What’s New…
Yes, cruelty towards animals must STOP!
Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism & Wildlife Mr. Najib Balala is right by declaring that the current punishments are not strong enough to deter poachers.
IF THIS DEATH PENALTY WOULD HAVE BEEN THE PUNISHMENT WHICH WAS GIVEN LONG BEFORE & MANY YEARS AGO, this massive numbers of Elephants & Rhinos wouldn’t have murdered as the way it had been.Also, International Animal traffickers must be located & the punishment should be the same. That’s the ONLY WAY ANYONE COULD STOP THIS MASS MURDER OF ELEPHANTS, RHINOS & OTHER ANIMALS. These Greedy people should be heavily punished & please bring the death penalty. SAVE THE PLANET & IT’S INHABITANTS. ONCE ALL OF THESE MAJESTIC CREATURES ARE WIPED OUT AFRICA WILL BE A HISTORY.
finally recourse. if the government wasnt so corrupt they wouldn’t need to kill wildlife for cash
ALL HUNTERS SHOULD BE PUT TO DEATH!!!!
VERY GOOD NEWS ALL COUNTRIES SHOULD DO THE SAME TO PROTECT THOSE WHO CANNOT DEFEND THEMSELVES AGAINST CORRUPT GREEDY HUMANS.
EXCELLENT DECISION LONG OVERDUE.HUMANS HAVE NO RIGHT TO BUTCHER ANY LIVING THING.
Thank you so much for setting strict punishments for poachers!!!
YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
They need to put the people who are putting these people up to poaching to death.
EXCELLENT DECISION and long overdue.
Now the rest of Africa should follow Kenya’s example. Add trophy hunters too – and the government officials who allow them, thereby selling out their own nation’s amazing wildlife.
Make a public showing of their deaths too – and it would be poetic justice to kill them the same way they killed the animal – like, sawing off an elephant’s face or rhino’s horn. Saw through the poachers faces and slice off their noses.
That should discourage potential poachers.
Harsh? Maybe. But with close to 10 billion people on the planet (and population limitations need to be next) and some wildlife only in the hundreds or LESS, we can’t afford to be merciful to these murderers.
Extinction is what is REALLY harsh.